Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra is inviting the public to witness the beatification of Pope John Paul III in Rome that will be broadcast simultaneously on a widescreen from the JP II tower at the reclamation area in Bacolod City at 4 p.m. Sunday.

“As Negrenses in the Diocese of Bacolod we can claim a special place in his heart and his intercessory powers, because he was once with us, in person, when he came to visit Bacolod in 1981,” Navarra said.

He called on the faithful to pray that John Paul II “will intercede for the protection of human life, especially of the unborn, for the sanctity of our marriages and the holiness of our families.”

Navarra has been actively leading the campaign against the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill that he says will lead to the killing of the unborn.

He said the simultaneous broadcast at the JPII Tower is being made possible via Skycable.

John Paul's beatification is said to have taken place at speed record for modern times, taking place six years and one month after his death on April 2, 2005.

His life, works and writings were scrutinized and the requirements for beatification were complete when the Vatican deemed that the unexplained cure of a French nun suffering from Parkinson's disease, who prayed to him after he died, was due to John Paul's intercession with God to perform a miracle.

After the beatification, another miracle will have to be ascribed to John Paul for him to become a saint. Many think this is a foregone conclusion and just a matter of time.*CPG

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